So glad you could stop by and join us in bringing in the new season and the new month! If you have been hopping along the hop you arrived here via Monica's blog and as you may/may not know, September has been renamed "STAMPtember" by the papercrafting world. To celebrate, the Social Media Butterflies contributors decided to play along with stamps this month in the creations of our designs!

A little embossed sentiment "popped up" adds a little dimension and fun to a simple card:

And this is a page from a travel album that will be inserted into my Project Life album that is nearing completion. I worked on it some while on vacation this summer working with the ideas from Ali Edwards ' class; Scrapbooking from the Road. This travel album has been a lot of fun to create and is more collage-like and more cluttered than my usual designs but I kinda let go a little (I was on vacation after all!) ;) Played with a lot of various stamps from Studio Calico. I plan to iron out the map insert-just didn't have time to before blog hop goes live. I plan to add a geotag die-cut or stamp to the map and a photo/two. (It kind of met up with caster on my office chair this am. Oops!)

Several more pages are near completion in the album and I hope to get it completed in the next few weeks. Will post more pictures here on my blog as it is completed.

And, I thought I'd go back into my archives and pick out a dozen or so of my designs that showcase different ways one can create with stamps.
Here is one that uses stamps to highlight photos, sentiments, and function as a journaling spot:

This one showcases an "ombre" effect ("hey girl" and arrows) and was achieved by stamping 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations of the stamps. (Translation for newbies: Ink up your stamp really well and stamp image. Then stamp again (2nd generation) and so on. Kind of a really fun effect). Would love to see what y'all come up with. Feel free to post a comment with a link back to your creation. There is a bit of a fun giveaway involved that may just be "thematic" to this month's celebration! ;)

Here I have embossed the pie graph stamp:

And here as well! I kind of liked the outcome here of an imperfect image. Kinda adds to the vintage feel of this layout methinks! :)

And in this one I highlighted the use of random alpha stamps to create a layout of a favorite quote of mine. (Thank you Ralph Waldo Emerson!)

Here I used my set of American Craft Stamp Markers. These markers are so fun and open up a plethora of creative possibilities with your stamps. :) :) :)

And a few more designs. The first one happens to be a fav of mine. :)

I couldn't leave out our 4-footed family members! ;)

And, lastly, another FAV. This was one of those layouts that came together quickly in my mind (It took a bit longer to get my mental image transferred onto the card stock, however, but was sooooo fun to create!)

Well, there you have it! Hope you leave here a wee bit inspired. Please be sure to hop along and check out the other contributors designs on the hop! I am certain you will not get to the end of the hopping and not be inspired by something! And again, there are some fun giveaways involved so leave a little love along the way and increase your chances of winning! :)

NOTE: How to increase your chances of winning:

leave a comment here on my blog

become a follower here on my blog

follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram "SuzMannecke"(no spaces)

become a follower of "Social {Media} Butterflies" blog (comment back here letting me know you have done so)

Sunday, September 23, 2012

This weekend it was all about experiencing Ian's first HS marching band festival. Mick and he were up and out the door by 6:15AM to drop him off at school in time to load the bus for the festival. Then Mick, Ethan, my mom, and I drove over to the festival.

Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. Low 70s, blue skies, no clouds. Excited kiddos, boosters, band directors, parents. The excitement definitely was in the air.

In pre-lims, they placed 4th and made it to the finals.
In finals, they placed 2nd only to a much bigger, much more financially backed school. We were so proud of all of the kids. So proud of their perseverance, their dedication, their unity.

Their program is called Wolf | Blow the House Down. A theatrical performance with cool props and fantastic color guard uniforms, really cool musical movements and artistic marching patterns.
Here are just a few pics from their prelim performance:

Monday, September 17, 2012

So last weekend was Homecoming. The first one for my oldest son. The first Homecoming band performance. The first dance. And what does the weather do after a summer of our worst drought ever? It rains. Not just a little. But quite a bit. Not enough that the show didn't go on, but enough that the props couldn't be assembled, and enough that my son's uniform is in need some major OxyClean moments!
The kids did a fabulous job performing, and despite the rain they sounded awesome and got loud cheers from the crowd.
The football team fared pretty well too-skunking their opponents by quite a few touchdowns.
The dance? Well, we got a bit of a report from the attendee himself. He enjoyed the time with his "girl" friend (not "girlfriend") and was also apparently challenged to a dance battle, of which he won by finishing it off with a "K" kick. (I guess those dance lessons paid off after all! ;)

I only have a few pics of the day (as it was raining I was not going to take out my fancier camera) and here they are:

The drum line preparing for the Parent Preview that occurred on Thursday evening:

Since I was trying to steal a few shots, I wasn't fortunate enough to actually get a clear shot of my son.
Mick and I have been busy getting into full-fledged Band Booster Parent mode. Here he is helping assemble the props for the program. I spent the evening selling kettle corn for fundraising.

A certain someone has been obsessed with this little bit of pop culture toy history:

He has taken it with him everywhere and was on a mission to solve it. After a sudden shriek thundered through our home on Fri, rendering the parents in the domicile thinking their child had been seriously hurt, we found that he had indeed solved it. And within 24 hours he had solved it -fourteen times. Because once wasn't enough! ;)

This pic is of my oldest. Still taking after me in stature, but this iPHoto shot really renders him looking much shorter than he really is! He was a bit excited but totally pulled out the keeping it on the down low cool look.

I actually pulled out a sweater and my fav leather boots for the big festivities. Sporting the red in support of my son's high school.

The corsage for my son's date. Only a corsage as he wigged out when he found out that I had ordered a boutonniere for him as well. (Sheesh! Just trying to help him impress his date-but what's a momma to do? Answer: Cancel the boutonniere order).

Work has begun on our remodel/addition/re-roofing project at our cabin. Excited to embark on this little adventure of ours. The 4 of us spent most of Sunday moving the contents of the cabin into storage while the remodel takes place.
We were so excited that "We have a slab!" Coming from people who have never built a house, it's kinda a big deal.

And since it rained most of the weekend, I had a bit of a chance to get a little scrapping in. I worked on Project Life and created this layout:

I still can't get enough out of my Silhouette Cameo. Such a wonderful invention and tool for crafters. Love love LOVE!!

Today I am the featured designer over at Social {Media} Butterflies; an online blog created by a group of crafty ladies that are passionate about papercrafting, creating, and sharing inspiration via many forms of social media; Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.

Head on over there to learn a little bit more about the group and join in on the fun. We have a blog hop that goes live on the 29th of each month, showcasing conrtibutors creations as well as giveaways you sure should not miss out on1

A special thank you to Shay Tibbs, for being our Organizer Extraordinaire. She is simply the best at pulling it all together! :)

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

I do know exactly where I was at the time of the attacks.
But I didn't know exactly where "My Mick" was.
I do know I was really pregnant with Ethan. Six plus months along.
But I didn't know if "My Mick" was ok.
I do know I was terrified and grief-stricken beyond measure. Not just for my loved ones.
But for everyones' loved ones.

I do know that life, for me, for my family, for my friends, for my country, for my world, was tragically altered for eternity.

I do know as difficult as it still is,
I want to remember. I need to remember.
I don't want to forget.
Those that lost their lives.
Those that saved lives.
Those that were never found.

I want their lives, their losses, our losses, my losses, to have meaning and significance.
To change this world.
For the better.
To erase away evil.
To replace it with goodness, kindness, mercy, and healing.

I don't know that my heart will ever fully mend.
I don't know that it should.

Friday, September 07, 2012

Good morning and happy Friday all! As promised, I am back with my designs for this months' Little Black Dress Kit. This month was full of little bits of loveliness; lots of patterned paper and a generous sampling of trims and embellies.

Here is what I crafted with this kit:

First up two baby girl cards. I love me some pink, but as a momma to two boys, I have to use it sparingly on layouts that are about them or just make some fun girly girl baby cards as I have done here! Twist my arm would ya? I loved creating with the softer colors, the lovely bling, and the delicate ribbon. I used my Silhouette to die cut the "congrats" on the first card and then saved the positive "congrats" and misted it for use on the second card. I like to see how far I can stretch my supplies and that is just how I roll. ;)

Loved the wooden buttons in this kit and I chose to use the back side of this particular one and add a little stamp sentiment to it. It like how it added a bit of texture and a vintage feel to the card. :)

This layout was inspired by the Dr. Seuss card that comes in this month's kit. I loved the little Scrabble tiles too. One foe each of my boys initials.

Here is a closeup of the little fish I hand cut and spray misted. I added the bubbles with Glossy Accents.

My oldest son just started "Hi" School. I wanted to document this special milestone and Jenni Bowlin's stencil was a great foundation for it. Even though I backed the stencil with a delicate monochromatic pp, I balanced it out with bold red and black and orange, to give the layout a more masculine feel.

This layout was created and inspired by the travel themed patterned paper and the roses at the bottom right. My DH and I were very fortunate to travel to Europe in 2000 and the rose garden and park on the grounds surrounding the Notre Dame provided a lovely landscape for picture taking. Here I layered up some of the Elle's Studio pennants with patterned papers and cut up some SC fabrics to make extra banners for little groupings throughout the layout.

I really enjoyed creating this layout. Probably my fav of the group. I broke out my handy dandy craft knife and got to work cutting out arrows to form a chevron pattern within the zigzag patterned paper. I used an embossing pen to draw some sunbeams and embossed with Mustard Zing. Little bits of layering with ephemera and embellies and a touch of misting. :)

This last layout was me stretching out the lovely Dear Lizzy paper from the kit along with Allison Kreft's Everyday Eclectic woodgrain paper. I can't get enough of this paper! Swoooo-ning!

Once again I got my craft knife out and cut out chevrons and backed them with patterned paper. Little bits of embellies from the kit along with some non-kit items (those of which are listed in my gallery over at LBD kit. I love the washi that came in the kit this month and was constantly finding little homes for it to reside in on my layouts. This layout was no exception. I love that a little goes a lonnnnng way...

So, there ya have it! Please make sure to stop on over to the Little Black Dress website and check out the other designers gallery for more inspiration! And while your at it you might just want to buy a kit (or two!!) ;)

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Hi All,
Hope you are having a great week. We are finally getting into the school groove here with marching band festivals, football games, and science and drama clubs starting up. Last weekend we enjoyed the long weekend at the lake with family and had a lovely time. It was sad to see the boat in our rear view mirror on the drive home--it signaled the end to the summer and to our long and lazy lake weekends.

The weekend was eventful though as our youngest decided he was finally ready to try waterskiing. First it was off the boom. While his form/technique has a little room for improvement, he got up on the first try! We were so proud of him. Then, he wanted to try from behind the boat! He got up again!
And therein lies the inspiration for this layout:

I'll be back later to post a few more weekend pics, but I know some of you are here for the Silhouette project I created. It was inspired by a journal I recently purchased for a "someone special" in my family.

Materials need: Silhouette Cameo

Cardstock 12x12

Washi tape (assorted colors)

Acrylic paint (black and white)

Mr. Huey Sunshine

Modge Podge

I absolutely love these words and when I first saw them on the journal I knew I HAD to create this for my scrap space! Words to live by, KWIM? ;)

I may type up a short tutorial on how I created this project if time allows and there is an interest. ;)

Lastly, I recently started playing with the Pop off the Page Class Kit.

Here is my first layout:

Have a great Thursday all! I 'll be back tomorrow with my Design Team Gallery for Little Black Dress' September Kit!